“I didn’t want that to be my television legacy,” he told press at the FOX TCA All Star Party on January 8. “I wanted to do something that ended better, will end better. Nothing against those guys — they know what they did, I know what I did, and we all moved on, so I'm happy about that.”

Sheen’s new show for FX, Anger Management, starts shooting in March and although the schedule will be hectic — 10 episodes in six weeks — he says it’s a project he’s excited to throw himself into.

“I wanted to do a show and play a character that dealt with more mature themes, dealt with stuff that actually exists in the real world,” he said. “A lot of the time on the other show I felt like we were sort of seeing the comedy, but not allowing it to come out of character situations.”

Sheen and showrunner Bruce Helford say the show bears no resemblance to the movie starring Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson. Instead, Sheen will play an anger management counselor with an ex wife who’s “not a bummer” and a 13-year-old daughter who exercises unusual methods in his practice.

“All great comedy comes out of conflict and you’ve got a guy who’s really conflicted,” he says. “It’s so rich. Everywhere you point the camera, you can’t lose.”

Though Sheen’s character is not meant to reference his real-life self, the actor admits he’s entering fairly familiar territory.

And, believe it or not, he says he’s ready to keep his antics on screen this time. “I don’t really plan that stuff,” Sheen said, referencing the past year. “But let’s just say I have a mellower plan for this year. I’m not crazy anymore. That was an episode. I think I’m a different person than I was yesterday.”